The invention relates to an optical sensor as disclosed in the preamble to patent claim 1.
Optical sensors of this type are generally used for detecting objects in a monitored area and can be embodied, for example, as light scanners, reflecting light barriers, distance sensors and the like. The components of the optical sensor, which are integrated into a casing, comprise a transmitter for emitting light rays, a receiver for receiving the transmitted light rays, and an evaluation unit in which an object detection signal is generated from the signals received and present at the receiver output.
A transmitting optic for forming a beam with the transmitted light rays and a receiving optic for focusing the transmitted light rays onto the receiver are typically provided as additional optical components. These optical components are normally embodied as separate lenses, which can consist of glass or plastic. Optical components of this type increase the number of structural elements for the optical sensor, wherein generally separate holders and receptacles must be provided inside the casing for securing these elements.
The plurality of components used in the optical sensor leads to an undesirable increase in the assembly expenditure and generally to relatively high production costs for the optical sensor.